Expanding earth anchor



Dec. 6, 1949 YOUNG 2,490,187

EXPANDING EARTH ANCHOR Filed Oct. 18, 1945 J INVENTOR. F K You/v6- Patented Dec. 6, 1949 a tman.

October 18, 1. Claim. (Cl. 189-92) Application This invention relates to expanding earth. an-

chors particularly for holding? cables or'g-uy ropes and the like which serve to holdtelephonatelegraph,- or lightv and power duce an anchor of this matically installed without the use of hammers, rammers, or other means of parts of the anchor-itseliby merely rotating it through its stem or shaft.

One of the main advantages of my anchor is that it can be easily and conveniently retrieved for use in another locationby simply reversing the installation proc-ess,-thus permitting a saving in material, and. also obviating the necessityof; carrying a large stock of anchors in the event of; A further advantageof my an-- frequent moves. chor is its simplicity of design and-consequent low cost of production.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the earth anchor in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the anchor in closed position.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the anchor in fully opened, operative position.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified form of the anchor in closed position.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the of the anchor in closed position.

7 is a plan view of the'modiiied form of the anchor in fully opened, operative position. FigI'8 is a section taken on line.8-.8,.Fig..'7.'

The preferred form of in the first four figuresof the drawing comprises three blades I, 2, and 3, diameter, and while for thepurposes of this specification the invention is shown;as-.-having three of these bl'ades,"it' is to 'be' understood that a greater number'or only twoblades may be incorporated without departing from the spirit of the invention. The blade I is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured at a point near its perimeter, as shown at, 5, to the lower end of a vertical anchor rod t provided at its upper end with a loop 6 for easy manipulation. Th blades 2 and 3 are pivotally attached to the rod 4 at points i and 8 near their respective perimeters, the blade 2 being intermediate of the blades l and 3 and all the blades being in sliding relation to each other (Fig. 3), in such a manner that when linepoles in place, though it can be used wherever:- guyropes or;- cables are to be securely anchored in the ground.' The principal object of the 'invention'is to"pro-- type which can be auto-- this kind, the instal lation being accomplished by the movement of the anchor as shown;

modified form the invention illustrated" respectively, of equal position the anchor is in closed 55 blade l and cut Bakersfield, Calif.

1945, Serial No. 623,035

register exactly with one another.

At its perimeter th 3 has a similar similar downturned ear All of the ears 9, ill, ll, formed'integrally with the blades "2 perimeter. preferably and 3, respectively, and-terminate inpoints, and; preferably the blades have sharp edges at theirperimeters to facilitate their cutting into the;

earth.

In operation the procedure A hole of slightly-larger is asfollows:

at the bottom-of the: hole, which is oi'sucn-depth that the loop'fi at the top of therodl'is above j, suitable instrument the rod 4;,

ground. With any is then rotated, and this: rotating movement is transmitted to the blade I by attachment to said rod- 4, the maining stationary for the: time their upturned ears 9 and H respectively, engage the earth walls oi'the hole.

- As the blade cuts a horizontal groove into the blade 2 engages the edge of. the

the pivoted blade 2. and overcomes theretarding action of the upturned ear movement forces the sharp blade 2 to follow the into the earth, the upturned ear H of the blade 3 mitted to tionary.

is continued until blade 3 engages the edge oithe blade chor is now fully openedasshown in with the weight of the undisturbed tinned and the earth which has been removed may be replaced if desired. Guy ropes or cables may then be fastened to the loop 6 of the anchor rod t, which, it will be remembered, extends above the surface of the earth ii the hole has been filled and it is obvious that the spread of the opened blades of the anchor under the earth offers sufiicient resistance to any strain that may be put upon them.

When the anchor is to be retrieved for use in the perimetersnoi' the blades l, 2, and 3.

blade 2 has. an upturned ear 9 and spaced aparttherefrom a downturned ear It, and the blade ear H and a upturned l2 1 at its and I2, are

diameter than the, diameter of the blades I, 2, and 3 is dug into the-. earth and the anchor, its closed position is lowered thereinto until its blade I rests-upon-the earth;

virtue of its rigid. blades 2' and 3.- rebeing because a I rotates,.its sharp perimetricedge. the earth, and asits rotating movement continues the downturned ear IU of blade I, whereby the rotating movement is trans- 9, and this in engagement with the earth wall of the hole serving tokeepthe blade 3 staanother location (in which case the earth is not replaced in the hole), movement in the opposite direction is applied to the anchor rod 4, which motion is transmitted to the blades I and 2 and continued until the blades l, 2, and 3 have been returned to the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with their perimetric edges in registration with each other, and the anchor is in closed position. It can now be lifted out of the hole and is ready for further use in another location.

In the modified form I have shown the anchor as having four blades, but again it is to be understood that a greater or smaller number of blades may be incorporated lower end of the vertical rod 4' is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured at 5' to the top of a circular base l3 at the center of said base, and the blades; I

iii are pivotally secured to the [5, l6, l1, and

at [9, 20, with respect to each other. The blades l5, l6, l1, and [8 are provided at their sharp, perimetric edges with upturned ears 23, 24, 25, and 26, respectively, and with downturned ears 21, 28, 29,

and 30, respectively, similar to the upturned ears 9 and II and the downturned ears It and I2 in the preferred form of the invention.

Each of the blades l5, l6, l1, and I8 has an irregularly shaped cut-out portion extending inwardly from its perimetric edge so as to form points 3|, 32, 33, and 34, respectively, and the blades are bent upwardly so that the sections terminating in the above-mentioned points will ride over the adjacent blades where the latter are pivotally secured to the base l3, as shown most clearly in Fig. 6, for a purpose which will be hereinafter set forth.

The rod 4 is screwthreaded near its end which is secured to the base I 3. A threaded nut is adapted to engage the screwthreads on the rod 4', and a disk 36 is rigidly secured to the bottom surface of said nut and is provided with a central aperture which registers with the aperture of the nut 35, so that the disk 36 will move up or down diameter as to overlap the points 3|, 34 when the anchor is in open position, as shown in Fig. 7.

When the modified form of the invention is to be put to use, the anchor in its closed position (Fig. 5) is lowered into the hole which has been dug in the ground until'the base I 3 rests upon the earth at the bottom of the hole, with the upturned ears 23, 24, 25, and 26 contacting the earth walls of the hole. Rotating movement of the rod 4' and the base I3 is then instituted, and

of the blade l5 engages the Wall or edge of the base l3, as do the downturned ears 28, 29, and 30. Thus as the rotating motion continues the blades l5, l6, l1, and I8 are simultaneously spread out and proceed to cut horizontal grooves into in the structure. The

be removed for further The modified anchor Just described also may their upwardly bent portions are permitted to ride over each other. Through this movement the blades are returned to the position shown in Fig. 5, when the anchor is fully closed and may be lifted from the hole.

When my anchor in either its preferred or modified form has been positioned within the I claim: An expanding earth anchor rod having at its lower end a rigidly se- FRANK R. YOUNG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

